PRACTICAL SEAMANSHIP - Station 35 Victoria

1 For 4,000 years mariners have gone to seain ships and boats and for 4,000 years acertain number of those mariners and shipshave not returned. During the history ofseafaring, mariners have made many mistakesand those that survive, learn to change theirbehaviour. These lessons are translated overthe years into traditions. Old mariners passon these traditions to young Coast Guard Auxiliary Search & Rescue Crew ManualPRACTICALSEAMANSHIPPRACTICAL Introduction to PRACTICAL SEAMANSHIP .. Handler .. Knots and Lines .. Construction .. Lay and Weave .. Knots, Bends and Hitches .. Coiling and Stowing .. General Precautions for Working with Rope .. Line Inspection .. Deck Safety and Lines Under Load .. Never Stand in the Bight! .. Watch your head! .. Mooring and Securing the Vessel .. Tying Up .. Cleat .. Sampson Post .. Anchoring .. Anchor Types .. Main parts of a typical anchor.

2 Anchor Fittings .. Setting the Anchor .. Scope .. Weighing Anchor .. Clearing a Fouled Anchor .. 9688 Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Search & Rescue Crew ManualThe Footstool that Stopped a ShipA Canadian Coast Guard ship was responding to a vessel in distress northof Cape Scott in 90-knot winds and 6-9 metre seas. She had been well securedfor weather by her crew and was taking forty-degree rolls in the heavy seas. Allwas going well until a small footstool broke free from its rack in the emer-gency generator room. It careened around the engine space only to get lodgedunderneath the protective cover of the emergency generator panel. The leg ofthe stool hit the only switch that could black out the entire ship. The bridgeinstruments went out and the helm control powerless ship swung into the weather and was hit by a huge sea. Sherolled onto her side and the bridge crew hung from handles on the consoleswaiting for the ship to come back up.

3 While hanging the Captain phoned theengine room and asked when power might be back. The engineers were scram-bling to isolate the circuit. As the ship slowly came back up she was slammedby another huge sea. The Captain phoned again and politely said, Hi guys, power would be nice, anytime now. The lookout reported another huge sea approaching. At that moment thepower flashed on and the Captain dove to the ship met the towering wave bow on. Helmsman resume last heading please. Course steady on 330 , Sir. PRACTICAL SEAMANSHIP Introduction to PracticalSeamanshipA new Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary crewmembermust learn the basic procedures for survival whileworking at sea. As one starts to spend time on theflat calm water many of the routines seem at first tobe redundant and unnecessary. It is not until the vesseland its crew are thrown into a treacherous situationthat it will become apparent why these rules exist.

4 Ifyou have not learned to practise safe procedures bythen, it may be too late. This basic set of traditions iscalled SEAMANSHIP and SEAMANSHIP training preventscrews from repeating the mistakes of the of SEAMANSHIP can be covered by threefundamental principles:OrderOne of the first doctrines of SEAMANSHIP is this chapter you will learn that everything on aboat has a place. Things out of their place can causedelays when responding to emergencies and/or canbe the cause of a catastrophe in heavy weather critical system on board a rescue vesselshould have a backup. All actions and proceduresshould be checked and double-checked. This rou-tine becomes tedious for new crewmembers that atfirst think it mariner must form habits that happen au-tomatically, habits such as shutting doors, coiling linesand double-checking for loose gear and open hatchesIt is not unusual to see a deckhand re-secure a pieceof gear three or four times before finally being satis-fied with the tie Line HandlerThe linehandler and operational positions will varywith the mission requirements but in general thisperson performs the functional duties required bythe mission.

5 The linehandler will ready and prepareany lines or tackle required for the securing and moor-ing of the vessel or securing of gear on the linehandler will ready and prepare any lines ortackle required in the assistance of another operational person will identify hazards on deckor related to the operations ( don t stand in thebight! ).General Duties and Responsibilitiesof a Line Handler Be responsible for crew and deck safety duringline handling operations Verify the plan with the captain/coxswain Inspect all lines and equipment to be used forwear or damage prior to starting operations Secure the decks of all gear and lines for gettingunderway Coil and stow all line hanging or in lockers Secure lines Check the lead of line to make sure crew areclear of the bight and running gear Keep line clear of running gear, especially in thewater (stern and propellers) Continuously report progress of line handlingoperations and the tension state of lines and anyother dangers Ready and toss the heaving lineThe only rope on a ship is the one that rings the rope becomes a line when it assumes a purpose ona vessel.

6 The care and handling of lines is the pri-mary skill of any Commands and Signalsfor Line HandlerClear all crew are clear of lines, gear andmachinery that is about to be engagedClear Forward Clear Aft all mooringlines are off the dock and the vessel isclear to proceedStandby to .. get ready to perform a taskLet go stern, bow, spring or breast lines untiethe line and get it clear of the dock or vesselReady Lines stern, bow, spring or breast lines untie and hold line with on wrap / loop on therail or cleat and stand by to let goReady Lines for port/starboard tie up break outmooring lines and fenders and rig them for tyingup on a designated sidePass the line throw the line or hand it to its des-tinationMake fast tie up the lineTake a wrap to control the line without makingit fast, wrap it once under the rail or on a cleatand pay out or take in slowlySlack the line loosen the line90 Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Search & Rescue Crew ManualPay out / surge the line feed more line out in acontrolled Knots and FibresNatural fibres such as manila, sisal, hemp andcotton will shrink when they get wet and also tendto rot or become brittle.

7 Manila is still used today onlarge ships and is the best natural fibre for mooringlines, anchor lines and as running rigging. Manilahas little stretch and is very strong. However, it hasonly about one-half the strength of a comparable-sized synthetic fibre line should be uncoiled from theinside of a new coil in order to prevent kinks. Alwayswhip the ends of natural fibres to keep them fromunravelling. When natural fibre lines have been insalt water you should rinse them in fresh water andallow to dry thoroughly. They should then be prop-erly coiled and stored on grates above deck in a dry,well-ventilated place to help prevent mildew and fibre ropes should be maintained in a cleanand dry state, as rot and mildew are their main causesof deterioration. They are, however, more resistantto heat than traditional synthetic fibre ropes; theydo not burn quickly and their breakdown is FibresNylonThis synthetic fibre is stronger, more elastic andmore durable than manila.

8 However, when placedunder excessive load, nylon will break without warn-ing. It is expensive and does not float. Nylon is thebest known and most used of the synthetic fibre usedin ropes. It has high breaking strength wet or dryand a strong weather resistance. It is highly elasticand and when under load can stretch up to 40%.Nylon ropes are used for shock absorbing whenused as mooring lines and are often used to securefenders to permit stretch as the vessel moves up anddown against the dock. Nylon ropes are light to han-dle and give the appearance of a smooth slippery sur-face. They have a high melting point (250 C) andare pliable in normal known as Dacron and Terylene , poly-esters are not as strong as nylon and have inferiorstretch properties. Their abrasion and temperatureresistance are similar to nylon. Polyesters are consid-ered to be more resistant to acids, oils and organicsolvents than their nylon counterparts.

9 Their strengthremains the same in wet or dry conditions. Thesecharacteristics make them ideal for most running rig-ging of sailboats. The disadvantage of polyester is verysimilar to that of nylon: it will not float. Its use shouldbe kept to a minimum when working about bitts orwarping drums. The melting point is between 230and 250 synthetic line is light, flexible and falls be-tween manila and nylon for strength. It s available inbright colours and will float. Floating line stays awayfrom propellers, making it a good choice for a tow-line and recovery line. However, polypropylene issusceptible to UV damage and will deteriorate Lay and WeaveThe care and handling of linesis the primary skill of anysailorExample of cable laidSamson braid lineExample of three PRACTICAL SEAMANSHIP 91 Most line is made from three strands twisted to-gether. The lay of the line is the term used to de-scribe the manner in which the line has been of the stronger and more expensive lines arebraided together with inner and outer cores.

10 Onecommon line of this type is called Samson Knots, Bends and HitchesKnots have many uses in the maritime world. How-ever, not all knots are equal; some knots are betterthan others. This section lists various knots that meetthe three important conditions for all good knots: Easy to tie Easy to undo Safe (if used as and where recommended)A crewmember should understand that any fas-tening (ie. knot) reduces the strength of a rope. Knotsand bends reduce the rope strength by up to 50%,while hitches reduce it by 25%. Well-executed splicescan be used to join ropes while retaining 80% ormore of rope strength. Most knots in polyethyleneor polypropylene monofilament ropes tend to knots must be doubled-up in order to hold,due to the waxy monofilament KnotThis knot is good for join-ing lines of the same thick-ness together. It can beeasily undone. The reefknot is used to fastentwo lines of equal sizewhen no great load isanticipated.